The U.S. military remains determined to defeat Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant extremist forces and effectively adapts its campaign as conditions evolve in Iraq and Syria, Defense Secretary Ash Carter told the Senate Armed Forces Committee today.

U.S. Special Forces supported an Iraqi peshmerga operation earlier today to rescue about 70 hostages from an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant prison near Hawijah, Iraq, Defense Department Press Secretary Peter Cook told reporters at the Pentagon this afternoon.

Since operations began against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant targets in Syria and Iraq, the coalition has conducted 7,603 airstrikes, an Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman in Baghdad told Pentagon reporters today via video teleconference.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff today detailed the campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant following a visit to Iraq.
Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. told reporters traveling with him that while he will not project a timeline, operations against the terror group continue to make progress.

In a Nov. 12 White House ceremony, President Barack Obama will present the nation’s highest honor for conspicuous battlefield gallantry to a retired Army captain for tackling a suicide bomber in Afghanistan’s Kunar province three years ago.
Retired Capt. Florent A. “Flo” Groberg will receive the Medal of Honor for his courageous actions while serving as a personal security detachment commander for Task Force Mountain Warrior, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, during combat operations in the provincial capital of Asadabad on Aug. 8, 2012.